Job Description

Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron science facility. Located on the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire a 20 minute drive south of Oxford in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Diamond Light Source conducts world-class research in virtually all fields of science and offers rewarding career opportunities covering both technical and scientific disciplines.

Beamline I10 the Beamline for Advanced Dichroism Experiments (BLADE) is a beamline optimised for the measurement of magnetism. It will have flexible polarisation (linear and circular light) and will operate in the soft X-ray range from 400 to 2000eV. It will thus be sensitive to the transition metal L2,3 edges and rare earth M4,5 edges. There are two main branches: one branch will be dedicated to magnetic scattering and the other to measuring magnetic circular and linear dichroism.

The beamline team is looking for an organised and motivated individual to help users of the instruments (including a vibrating sample magnetometer) and help with day to day running of the beamline which will include maintenance of the equipment in addition to installation and commissioning of new equipment. In the more senior position there will be the possibility of undertaking research relevant to the beamline capabilities.

Support Scientist - Scientific support to I10 beamline and the user operation programme.

Local contact support to users by setting up and providing advice and guidance on the best approach to experiments, data analysis and research techniques;

Assist in the installation, assembly, and maintenance of a range of equipment and systems on the beamline and support laboratories, including testing and commissioning;

Support of in-house research activities;

Test samples sent to Diamond by users; including data reduction and basic reports;

Maintenance of the beamline during operations;

Undertake problem solving and fault diagnosis of the beamline;

Produce reports and documentation (e.g. manuals, web-pages) to support the beamline.

Senior Support Scientist - Scientific support to I10 beamline and the user operation programme.

Local contact support to users by setting up and providing advice and guidance on the best approach to experiments, data analysis and research techniques;

Assist in the installation, assembly, and maintenance of a range of equipment and systems on the beamline and support laboratories, including testing and commissioning;

Support of in-house research activities;

Test samples sent to Diamond by users; including data reduction and basic reports;

Maintenance of the beamline during operations;

Undertake problem solving and fault diagnosis of the beamline;

Produce reports and documentation (e.g. manuals, web-pages) to support the beamline;

Develop and maintain expertise in a scientific field and apply it to user support;

Collaborate with users and in house scientists within area of expertise;

Develop new instrumentation and software in collaboration with support teams to upgrade the performance of the beamline, in a self-responsible way;

Contribute to scientific publications as part of in-house research or external research.

Qualification & Experience - Essential

Appropriate Science Degree;

Appropriate PhD;

Experience in the use of scientific instrumentation;

Experience in scientific data collection;

Knowledge of synchrotron radiation techniques;

Good interpersonal, communication and presentational skills;

Ability to interact with staff and facility users at all levels;

Ability and initiative to get to the heart of the problem and take it effectively through to completion;

Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team;

Good organisational and planning skills;

Self motivation;

Ability to work flexibly with occasional weekend and out-of hours working;

Must be available to travel occasionally within the UK and abroad, including overnight absences.

For appointment at the higher level, additional requirements:

Experience in supporting Scientists in the conduct of research in a synchrotron or equivalent facility;

Good background in X-ray optics or X-ray instrumentation, including X-ray detectors.

Qualification & Experience - Desirable

Three years relevant experience;

Experience with Windows/Linux/Unix;

Experience in synchrotron radiation based research;

Expertise in at least one of the following techniques: polarised x-ray spectroscopy (XMCD,XMLD) and soft x-ray diffraction;

Experience with vibrating sample magnetometry;

Experience with ultrahigh vacuum;

Good knowledge of writing scripts in Python or equivalent language.

Further Information

Ability to work flexibly with occasional weekend and out-of hours working;

Must be available to travel occasionally within the UK and abroad, including overnight absences.

Applying for employment

For further details on applying for employment at Diamond, please visit our 'Application Form' page.

Appointments will be made depending on the skills and experience of the candidate. Electronic Diamond application forms in MS-Word are preferred. These should be emailed to recruitment@diamond.ac.uk